The Baronies of Man
Kingless land
The land of Elkus does not permit enough power between swaths of land to hold a kingdom, instead, the settlements of man have built up several small bastions ruled as baronies. The rule of any single baron extends solely to his hold of the land, and they seldom interact with each other. The most powerful of these baronies is Taron-Bal, ruled by its families of nobles for over 2000 years. due to the existential dread of living day-to-day life in Elkus, the people have become distant and almost hollow from the perspective of onlookers. What is natural to them, and their traditions, may seem draconian or even barbaric to some, but the path to surviving is filled with hardships. Taron-Bal has, recently, fallen into tragedy after tragedy, causing the rise of a new baron who has garnered respect from many parties.
